Interview with Anneke van Giersbergen from the Gathering -
By George Roldan

Anneke van Giersbergen joined " The Gathering" back in 1994 and in 1995 you recorded your first album Mandylion (1995) with Century Media records. That album was daubed as highly successful.  In 1997, Nighttime Birds came into existence. The group started touring through out Europe. In 1999 the band experimented with How To Measure A Planet?, a varied and experimental double-album. It was harder to promote, and more difficult to understand for some die-hard metal fans. Still, positive reactions came from all over the world, including the United States, where you played 14 shows during the summer of 1999.

The Gathering were also fed up with the music industry, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and start their own label, Psychonaut Records. “ Always ”... was re-released on this label in 1999, followed by Almost a Dance in 2000, both re-mastered and fitted with new artwork. However, since their contract with Century Media hadn’t ended yet, their live album, Superheat, (2000) was released on this label. Most of the songs on this album are from How To Measure A Planet?, the others from Mandylion and Nighttime Birds and they were recorded in several Dutch venues during 1999.

Another successful chapter in The Gathering’s career followed with the release of " If_then_else (2000)". The album is filled with diverse, intense and emotional rock songs, more compact than its predecessor. Fifteen months of touring ensued, taking them to virtually every nook and cranny of Europe, with a little sidestep to Mexico, and ending with a small Dutch club tour in October 2001.

After this, the band members took a well-deserved break and attended to their private lives. However, there was no time to be lazy, they ended their contract with Century Media, The Gathering had to run their new born label Psychonaut Records and their 12½-year anniversary was coming up. To celebrate this with their dedicated fans, they released the mini-CD Black Light District on their own label. Writing the songs for this CD as well as for the forthcoming full-length CD " Souvenirs" that’s planned for early 2003, started in 2000. The band went through a rough time, and this can be heard in the songs. The early part of 2002 will be used for touring and finishing the upcoming album. That one too will be released through Psychonaut Records with a license deal at a major label. " The End Records ".

The Gathering interview with Anneke:

P4Y-  Congratulations on a fine album and great effort.

Anneke - Thank you very much.

P4Y-  I want to start with the end of your biography on your website, and I quote "The Gathering are finally free to do what they want to do best, and that's to make beautiful, atmospheric, experimental and emotional music".  Your new album is called Souvenirs and it will be released in USA on May 6, 2003. Do you think this new album takes the band to a whole new direction?

Anneke - I don't know if it is a whole new direction, but I think it is a new word direction, because what we did was go through a natural evolution with the music; so I believe we just go on  and every record is a little bit more contemporary and it fits into the sound of the era that we live in.  But I do believe, on the other hand, that we have reached a nice level in terms of what we can do technically in how we play music.  How we make songs, write and record in a good quality level.  So therefore, I am quite happy with this way that we are walking.

P4Y-  That's great.  Let me tell you, last Saturday night I was coming home from a concert with my wife, and my drive home took about an hour.  This was the second time I listened to your new album.  I decided to play it because the ride was about the same time as the CD, so I could really listen to the whole thing.  The first thing I noticed was that this particular album really worked on my senses.  I was sitting with my wife and I asked what she thought of it and she said she loved it.  From the keyboards to the soaring guitar to the great bass line, the CD invokes the spirit of The Gathering.  Your voice is so intriguing and beautiful and your new work is more melodic and powerful then your previous work.  You guys coined the word 'trip rock'.  Could you expand on what that means?

Anneke - Well.  How do you call our music really, that is the question.  Understandably, you have to come up with a name for your music, because when you want to explain to people what you make, it is difficult.  We thought its kind of trippy.  Rhythm wise, for sure, its kind of groovy.  Trippy - it takes you on a trip.  So  therefore, trippy, but its also rock.  And its not heavy rock, but it is kind of pop rockish, so 'trip rock' seemed a nice word.

P4Y-  How would you describe the stylistic sound that you are performing now?

Anneke - What do you mean?

P4Y-  Well, to me it seems original. You guys have been in the business for about 12 1/2 years and during that period of time, you have experienced a lot of ups and downs.  Now you are basically on to something that is so free form in your sound and it seems that you created your own sound.

Anneke - I like it because everyone of us comes from a different background, so ultimately, put all of those things, plus we listen to a broad span of music at home.  We get inspired by music, life, movies, and books, so that's why maybe its so layered.

P4Y-  Can you describe your song writing a bit?
Anneke -  What do you mean exactly?
P4Y Well, when you lay down your tracks, how do you go about it?

Anneke -  There's a lot of different ways to go about it.  Usually someone comes up with an idea for a melody or whatever, and then we kind of all dive into it and make a song.  You know, come up with more ideas and your own thing like I do vocals and lyrics and such but we also kind of help each other out with our things.  So its very much a group effort.  Sometimes I come up with almost a whole song, because I have the luxury of being able to write music, lyrics, and vocal parts.  So I sometimes come up with a song and then we rebuild it.  There's a lot of ways and sometimes we come up with an ok song, and run through the computer and mix it about, chop it up, and make some sounds in the computer. So, the sky is the limit.

P4Y-  Right.  What was your vision for this album?

Anneke -  Yeah. When we started writing those songs like 2 1/2 years ago, a long time because we took a ridiculous amount of time to write this album.  We had so many ideas and in that stage you just write what's coming off of your mind.  When you have some songs and you take an overview look and see where does it lead to.  You have to listen to songs and where do they want to go.  We wrote like 20 songs and we found that about 10 of them were leading to a darker, moodier atmosphere, so we thought ok these songs need to fit together and we need to make a record that's not like everything else.  All chopped up and different genres per song, but to have a one over atmosphere feeling and a atmosphere about it.  Then you can start producing the songs, you know.  Then the talking and thinking starts.

P4Y-  What was your favorite track off this album?

Anneke - Yeah, good question.  I love all of them because we put so much time into them.  Usually there is one or two songs that I find quite weak, but now I like them all.  But one of my favorites is, I guess with Trickster G from Ulver, track #10.

P4Y-  Yeah, "A Life All Mine".  That was quite good.  Just to touch base on that, I know he joined the album, and I know he is from Ulver.  Why did you have him on the album?

Anneke -  Because he is a wonderful singer!  We were in contact with him via email, because at one point we were label mates.  We would chat about music and such, and then asked if he wanted to participate in a song with us, and he said yes.  So that's how easy it was.  So we sent him a song he might like, and he did.  We wrote vocal lines and lyrics with him all over mail and email because he lives in Norway.

P4Y- Can we expect the single to be released in the United States?

Anneke - I don't know exactly.  We are thinking of a single but we don't know exactly what to pick.  We are going to take our time a little bit.  So then a video will come along a little bit more in the year.  But I don't know, I hope it can be released in the States.

P4Y - Our pop music is starting to change here.  Pop is becoming more rock orientated.

Anneke - Ok.

P4Y-  So that's a good thing for us.

Anneke-  Alright.  That's good.  So what do you pick as your favorite off the album?

P4Y-  I notice that the entire album is like a change of pace for you.  I notice that when you were with Century Media Records, you had a heavier sound, and this album seems to be more melodic then usual.  But that's a good thing.  I love atmospheric sounds.  Track 6, for me, "We've Just Stopped Breathing" is an awesome track.  I love the up beat on it.  When I was listening to it in the car, it had a really great beat to it.  I also liked "Even The Spirits Are Afraid".  That's also one of my favorites.

Anneke - That's cool.

P4Y- I understand you will be hitting the road to support the new album.  Can we expect to see you in the States?

Anneke -Well hopefully.  Nothing has been planned yet.  We are concentrating on Europe right now.  We are touring our asses off the whole year.  We hope later this year to tour in USA.  It is difficult.  We were lucky to be there in 1999 and we loved it, so we hope to come back.  But you have to  find good bookers, promoters, and venues.  We are looking for some people who want to help us out and everything.  Now The End Records, Andreas, is doing a very good job.  So hopefully he can help us out.

P4Y-  He is one of my favorite people in the record business.

Anneke -Oh, really? Cool.

P4Y-  Yeah.  Andreas hooked me up with this interview with you, and he has been one of the nicest of all, very personable.

Anneke - True, true.  We find the same.  We have our own little label now and we find new people around us who want to help us out.  Andreas is one of the few with his heart in this business, and you notice it immediately, and that's why we work with him.

P4Y-  I know you have your own record label, and I believe you signed with The End Records for the States.  I think you did a good job there.

Anneke - Yeah.

P4Y-  Do you think you will be getting a new audience with this album?

Anneke - I have no idea really.  We should be, you know, or maybe a wider spread audience.  I have to say, the  world that we are in now, the metal, gothic, electronic prog world, which we are dancing in all those; its very comfortable to us.  Kind of going-with-the-flow of The Gathering.  So we love it.  I also believe we could appeal to a crowd a little bit more alternative.  So we are busy with that.  Trying to get our feet in the door.

P4Y-  Are you happy with the mix?  I believe with the producer, Zlaya Hadzich, he was the producer of the album.

Anneke - Yeah.  Originally from Croatia.  He lived in London for a long time and a few years in Holland.  We were very satisfied with him.  He tilted us to a more open contemporary sound.  We needed some help with that.  We had ideas and a clear view of what it had to be, but he helped us pull it off.

P4Y-  Do you have your own studios to record in?

Anneke-  We went to different studios, all in Holland.  At one point, we went to one of those little islands in Holland and rented a house and built a little studio just to get some ideas.  We moved around, which cost time and effort, but got new ideas everywhere.

P4Y- I think the mix is great.

Anneke -  Ahh - good.

P4Y- Andreas was able to get me a copy, and it was a great mix.  For review, I get about 40 CD's a month.  It is refreshing to get a really good mix.

Anneke -  That's nice.  I believe we succeeded in that.  That's good to hear anyway.

P4Y-  Who are you listening to these days that you find innovative and exciting?

Anneke - Well, we like new contemporary bands like Radio Head. My husband got the new Peter Gabriel.  He has a new sound, very beautiful record.  I can get excited about that stuff.  And of course Golden Oldies and The Beatles and such.

P4Y-  Almost at the end of the interview and I would like to end the interview and ask you is there anything you like to say to all of your fans out there?

Anneke -  Well for one thing, we hope to come back to the States to play.  We hope people come to see us and pick up the record to see if they like it.  We love to hear from everyone and see what they think.

P4Y-  I enjoyed my interview with you, Anneke.  I wish you a lot of luck and hope to see you in the States.  The music is so good.  Thank you for your time.

Anneke - Thank you for the time. Great interview!

Contact - http://www.gathering.nl/